loop in python

[Terry Reedy]

"km" <km at mrna.tn.nic.in> wrote in message 
news:20050823101056.GA25131 at mrna.tn.nic.in...
> I agree that python emphasizes on readability which i didnt see in many
> of the languages, but when the application concern is speed, does it
> mean that python is not yet ready? even most of the googling abt python

Funny you should mention 'googling'.  Are you aware that at least the first 
versions of the Google web spider and indexer were written in Python? 
Google continues to use Python.  But then, they are smarter than most 
people when it comes to business economics and competitive advantage.

> vs perl  convince me that perl is faster than python in most of the
> aspects.

Total cost of a computer program project includes human programmer time to 
write, test, revise, and maintain.  For many people, Python wins on this 
sometimes dominant aspect.  For commercial projects, calendar time to 
market is also critical.

> Also the first thing any newbie to python asks me is abt "raw speed in
> comparison with similar languages like perl" when i advocate python to > 
> perl.

I presume by 'raw speed' you/they mean cpu execution speed as opposed to 
human read, write, and understanding speed.  I really don't know what to 
say to someone who counts their own time as worthless in comparision to 
penny a minute CPU time.  But also, I would not advocate Python over Perl 
to a full-time programmer who is both comfortable and productive with Perl.

Terry J. Reedy